Saturday's Boys Basketball: Ducks Shoot Past Winlock, Into Regionals

Winlock kept pace with Toutle Lake, but only for the first quarter.

The Ducks caught fire from long range in the second frame and didn’t slow down in the second half, bringing the Cardinals’ season to a close with a 68-39 win Saturday in the District 4 2B Boys Basketball Tournament’s winner-to-regionals consolation round.

The Cardinals finished the season with an 8-16 record, with three of those wins coming in the district tournament.

“I just told the guys that this is probably the best eight-win team in the state,” Winlock coach Nick Bamer said. “It took us a while to find our way, but the past week and a half, we were playing some damn good basketball.

“Even today, we didn’t make it easy on Toutle at all.”

The Cardinals led 12-10 after a quarter but the Ducks hit 5 of 7 from long range in the second quarter to take control.

Austin Sweet buried a three to open the second and give Toutle Lake a lead it would never relinquish. Logan Grabenhorst added three triples of his own in the second, on his way to a game-high 25 points, and the Ducks closed the first half on a 14-2 run.

“That’s a good team. I think they’re going to be a handful,” Bamer said of the Ducks. “They’ve got size, they’ve got shooters, they’ve got senior leadership, and they’re damn tough.”

Bryce Cline led Winlock with 22 points and scored nine straight to close out the third quarter and cut the Ducks’ lead to 41-31.

“He’s starting to become a complete player and plays defense as well as offense. He’s just so explosive, and we rely on him so much to generate offense,” Bamer said. “I’ve never seen an opponents’ (pregame) board, but I’d imagine he’s about the only thing on it.”

Foul trouble caught up with the Cardinals late, however, and Toutle Lake hit 17 of 24 foul shots in the fourth quarter to put the game on ice. The Ducks finished 24 of 37 from the stripe, while Winlock was 2 of 7.

Chase Hadaller added 12 points for Toutle Lake, with Mike Adams scoring eight and grabbing 14 rebounds.

Toutle outrebounded Winlock 34-20, and the Cardinals hit just 4 of 20 shots from behind the arc.

It was the final game for Winlock seniors Alan Contreras and Everardo Garcia. The Cardinals will return four starters next season.

“We’re happy to be here today,” Bamer said. “We’re not satisfied, but we’re happy to be here with a chance to see what happens, and that’s all you can ask for.”

Toutle Lake (16-7) moves on to a loser-out regional game next Friday or Saturday against a to-be-determined opponent.